This week, we shall continue the study of the book of Jeremiah in the
Old Testament.
In His effort to persuade His people to repent from their sins, it is obvious that God is willing to try every means to convince or convict them, and this is an account of His uses of the Recabites who lived among them to shame them into repentance. (See Note below concerning the Recabites.)
(1) When the Lord asked Jeremiah to invite the whole family of Recabites for a drink, do you think that the Lord was confident that they would not break the command of their forefather? Why or why not? (v. 2)
(2) Was there a reason why Jeremiah chose to describe in such a detailed fashion of where the room of reception was located? (v. 4)
(3) The reply of the Recabites (vv. 5-11)
a. Did God give the command to them not to drink wine? (v. 6)
b. Apart from the prohibition of wine drinking, what else did Jonadab command them not to do? (v. 7)
c. What might be the reason for these commands to maintain a nomadic lifestyle?
d. How long had they been keeping these commands, considering Jonadab lived in the time of Jehu, i.e. around say, 886 B.C.? (see 2 Ki. 10:23)
e. What happened that had caused them to move into Jerusalem? (v. 11)
f. Would you say that the invitation by Jeremiah in the name of the Lord for them to drink presented a strong temptation or reason for them to break the command of their forefather? Why or why not?
g. Why would they stick to the command of their forefather?
(4) The Recabites versus God’s people (vv. 12-16)
a. Who was the one who gave the command in each case?
b. How different were the commands? Which one was easier to obey? Why?
c. What was the promise given in each case? (vv. 7 and 15)
d. What was the difference between their receptions of the commands?
e. In what ways does this contrast reveal the particular wickedness of God’s people?
(5) What punishment does the Lord affirm again that would befall Judah? Do they deserve it? (v. 17)
(6) What blessing does the Lord bestow upon the Recabites? Do they deserve it? (vv. 18-19)
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“According to this passage, the Recabites were a branch of the Kenites, i.e. descendants of Kenite, the father-in-law of Moses (Jdg. 1:16) who had gone to Canaan with the Israelites, and dwelt among them, partly in the wilderness on the southern frontier of the tribe of Judah (1 Sam. 15:6; 27:10; 30:29), partly in Kadesh in Naphtali (Jdg. 4:11, 17; 5:24). Their ancestor, or father of the tribe, was Rechab, the father of Jonadab, with whom Jehu made a friendly alliance (2 Ki. 10:15, 23).”
(K&D, 313)
“But they replied, 'We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: "Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine"'.” (Jer. 35:6)
We know that God has been extremely patient with both Israel and Judah, and in spite of their disobedience, He has sent prophets “again and again” (35:14) to urge them to repent, and He has obviously kept on delaying the punishments that should have fallen upon them. Here (in chapter 35), the Lord even uses the Recabites who dwell among them as an example of obedience that they should learn from:
- The Recabites are willing to obey the command of their forefather, Jonadab, a mere man, while the people of God refuse to obey the command of God Himself;
- The Recabites have remained faithful to the command which was given by Jonadab who was a contemporary of Jehu, i.e. around 886 B.C. That is to say, by the time of Jehoiakim, they have been faithful to this command for some 300 years;
- The commands to the Recabites extend from the prohibition of wine drinking to the prohibition of building houses and farming — while the former might have spiritual implications, the latter is simply a matter of culture, meaning there really lacks a strong enough reason for them to continue to keep these commands, and yet they do. On the other hand, God’s commands are all essential for His people to stay pure, to remain His people and their keeping these commands is a matter of life and death, yet they have shunned His commands consistently for almost a thousand years by then.
As a result, while the curse that God affirms once again for His people is fully justified, the blessing He bestows upon the Recabites is what they fully deserve as well. By the same token, while the sins of Israel and Judah serve as a warning to us, the obedience of the Recabites is something that we should take to heart as well, and we should be reminded that the one who asks of us is God Himself and our obedience always carries with it His tremendous blessings.
This chapter sheds light on the beginning of the process by which Jeremiah’s sayings were collected and given a fixed literary form (see today’s Meditative Article). The fourth year of Jehoiakim saw Nebuchadnezzar defeat the Egyptian army at the Euphrates and his advance against Jerusalem. Daniel 1:1 indicates that Jerusalem was taken for the first time and a day of fast was likely instituted to commemorate this day to “evoke in the people a religious enthusiasm in favor of resistance” (K&D, 317).
36:1-7—Instruction to Put All Oracles into Writing
(1) When was Jeremiah asked to put “all the words” that God has spoken to him into writing? And how many years of prophecies did it cover? (see Jer. 25:1-3)
(2) What was the purpose of putting all the inspired words into writing? (v. 3)
(3) We have no idea why Jeremiah was “restricted” perhaps because he “had been forbidden to enter the temple precincts after the event of 19:1–20:6 or after the temple sermon (7:1-15)…” (NICOT, 623). His secretary, Baruch was asked to read all these words instead:
a. Where was he going to read the words? (v. 5)
b. When? (v. 6)
c. To whom? (v. 7)
d. Why? (v. 7)
36:8-19—The Reading of the Scroll in Public
(4) When was the scroll finished and read? (v. 9)
(5) Why was the day of fast being picked for the reading? (v. 9)
(6) The day of fasting was obviously a day of mourning, and likely for the first defeat of Jerusalem in the hands of the Babylonians.
a. What impact might these messages have on the people who came to the temple for the day of fast?
b. Why did the officials, who subsequently also heard the messages, look at each other in fear? (v.16)
c. Why did they think the king should hear the messages also? (v. 16)
d. Why did they ask Baruch and Jeremiah to hide first? (v. 19)
36:20-26—The Reading of the Scroll to the King
(7) Did the king bother to hear the entire message in the scroll? Why? (v. 23)
(8) What did he do to the scroll? What did his action represent? (v. 23)
(9) How different was the reaction of the king (and his attendants) from that of the officials? (v. 24) Why?
(10) Were you surprised that the king wanted to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah? Why?
36:27-32—The Re-Writing of the Scroll
(11) How does the fact that the scroll was re-written with many additions (v. 32), even though the original one was burned, speak to the indestructibility of the words of God?
(12) What specific judgment was pronounced on the king? (vv. 30-31)
(13) What message does this carry for those who are bent on destroying the Bible?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.” (Jer. 36:32)
Many scholars shed doubt on the credibility of the Book of Jeremiah mainly because of the lack of chronological clarity and consistency of the final edited version of the book as it appears in our Canon. Some doubt if many of the oracles recorded are actually from Jeremiah. Many even attribute a much later date to the final form of the book. However, chapter 36 gives us insight into part of the process by which this book has come to us in its present form and Scofield has these words in answer to the skeptics in this respect:
“This verse (36:32) explains the arrangement of Jeremiah's prophecy. As the exile came nearer, God commanded Jeremiah to write down the messages that He had already given orally (30:2) and to add to them new divine promises of return from exile and of other blessings in the more distant future (30:3,10-11). Jehoiakim destroyed Jeremiah’s scroll (36:23). God commanded Jeremiah to dictate a new scroll. Jeremiah did so, reproducing the contents of the previous scroll, which probably had been arranged in the order in which God had originally given them. But he added at the proper places certain other inspired discussions of the same subjects (36:32). Later on Jeremiah inserted messages received at later times but logically related to messages previously given, putting them at the appropriate places within the scroll already written, as for instance, chs. 21; 24; 27-29; 32-34. Other messages given after the new scroll was written were added in the order in which they were received, and these were followed by certain special sections (chs. 45-52). Thus the arrangement of the book is partly according to the time the messages were given, and partly according to the nature of the subject matter.”
It is interesting to note this chapter marks the first ever burning of the Holy Scriptures in history which was followed by many burnings of the Bible down the centuries until today. The command by the Lord to re-write “all the words” is a powerful symbol of the indestructibility of the Word of God. However, while the enemies of God of old sought to exterminate His Word by burning, modern enemies of God seek to exterminate the Word of God by intellectual means.
37:1-10—False Hope Raised by the Retreat of the Babylonians
(1) Quickly scan through 2 Kings 24 to get a sense of the events that eventually led to the installation of Zedekiah as king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar:
a. Since the prophecies of Jeremiah had come true, why did Zedekiah and his attendants still pay no attention to the words of God?
b. What possibly could their reasons be?
(2) Based on the information in vv.5-9, what do you think was the reason for Zedekiah’s request to Jeremiah to “pray to the Lord our God for us”? (v. 3)
(3) What was God’s reply to the king? (vv. 8-10)
(4) What should the king’s reaction be?
37:11-21—Jeremiah’s Imprisonment —We have no idea what is meant by “to get his share of the property” nor whether it was connected to the subsequent purchase of his uncle’s land after he was imprisoned (in chapter 32):
(5) What was the reason for his arrest? (v. 13)
(6) Do you think the captain was simply using it as an opportunity to arrest him? (v. 15)
(7) What was the condition of that jail? (see v. 20)
(8) Why did the king send for him again? (v.17) Did he know he was falsely imprisoned?
(9) What was the answer from the Lord? (v. 17)
(10) How did Jeremiah remind him of the certainty of God’s word? (v. 19)
(11) Whom did Jeremiah say was the one who put him in prison? (v. 18)
(12) Why did Zedekiah agree to transfer him to the palace’s prison? (v. 21)
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, ‘Is there any word from the LORD?’.” (Jer. 37:17)
As much as Zedekiah was a king who did evil in the eyes of the Lord (2 Ki. 24:19), he did show an inclination to repent.
We read earlier in chapter 34 that he did initiate a covenant to be made by the people to proclaim freedom for all their Hebrew slaves according to the stipulation in the Law of Moses (Deut. 15:12) when it appeared that their forefathers had not done so (34:14). Although they subsequently reneged on their promise and enraged the Lord in the process, this was a reflection of his intent to repent; only he did not have the determination to follow through.
Even in this chapter, we read that twice he approached Jeremiah, again on his own initiative. The first time was when the Babylonians temporarily retreated from Jerusalem in order to deal with approaching Egyptian army. Certainly, it was brought by false hope, no doubt, created by false prophets among them. But his inquiry to the Lord shows that he did not really trust these false prophets.
Later on (that was after Jeremiah was in the dungeon for “a long time” (v. 16), and thus it is not illogical to assume that Nebuchadnezzar had resumed his siege of Jerusalem), Zedekiah once again asked for the word of the Lord, except “privately” (v. 17). However, the re-affirmation of God’s punishment had not caused Zedekiah to repent which was reflected in his not freeing Jeremiah, but only transferring him to his palace to preserve his life.
Whether it was the reneging of his covenant before the Lord in the freeing of Hebrew slaves, or the keeping of Jeremiah in prison, the reason was rather obvious. He did not wish to enrage the nobles and the leaders on whom he thought the stability of his reign still depended. In other words, he was not willing to put his trust totally in God, though he somehow knew in his heart that his fate was ultimately in God’s hand. What a pitiful king!
The truth of the matter is, there are still many “Zedekiahs” around these days, even in the church of Jesus Christ.
King Zedekiah’s fear of the nobles almost cost the life of Jeremiah:
38:1-6—The Officials’ Attempt to Kill Jeremiah
(1) If Jeremiah was not a prophet and his prophecies did not come from God, what would his message amount to at a time like this? (v. 2-3)
(2) Was the opinion of these officials or noblemen necessarily wrong then? (v. 4) Why or why not?
(3) What was the king’s response in essence? (v. 5) Could he have saved him?
38:7-13—Godly Officials Stepped in to Save Jeremiah
(4) Who was this Ebed-Melek? (Note: Cushite means he was an Ethiopian.)
(5) Why was he the only one who dared to step up to save Jeremiah?
(6) What does it tell you about King Zedekiah who now changed his mind, but still put Jeremiah back in the prison in the courtyard of the guard?
38:14-28—Zedekiah’s Inquiry of the Lord
(7) Why did Jeremiah point out that it was futile for the king to ask?(v. 15)
(8) What promise did the king give? Why did he swear an oath “secretly”? (v. 16)
(9) The answer of Jeremiah was basically the same as before, with these exceptions: (vv. 17-23)
a. What details were given concerning the fate of the king and his household?
b. What would be the wider implications of his action beyond himself?
(10) Why did the king warn him not to repeat this conversation to the officials?
(11) Should Jeremiah listen to him? Why or why not?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has revealed to me…All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down.” (Jer. 38:21, 23)
Both Jeremiah and King Zedekiah were in a tough place.
For Jeremiah to preach a message of surrender was not easy, because it would naturally be looked upon as unpatriotic. Throughout history, freedom is valued far more than life in all cultures. Such a message would not only been seen as cowardice, but would demoralize the people and especially the soldiers who were charged with the protection of the city. However, Jeremiah had no choice, because “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel says” (38:17).
King Zedekiah’s struggle was made plain by his repeated inquiries of the Lord through Jeremiah. Although every time the replies were essentially the same, he still approached the prophet, and in this chapter, we read that he approached the prophet often in secret for fear of the officials or nobles of the city. In a way, it shows his desire to really comply with the words of God, but in the end, he did not, likely because of the pressure put on him by his officials, and partly because he was misled by false prophets (38:22). However, the Lord made plain to him that his decision would carry implications beyond him and his household, and would affect the entire city and the people (38:23).
It is often the case with our decision whether to obey the will of God. We would like to think that our decision is purely our own personal matter, but the truth of the matter is our decision as children of God often carries implications beyond ourselves, and would impact our family, the church family and the kingdom of God.
39:1-10—The Fall of Jerusalem
(1) Based on the information in vv. 1-2, how long did it take for Nebuchadnezzar to eventually overcome the opposition of Jerusalem?
(2) Given what we have considered in the last chapter, what would have gone through the minds of the king and his officials during this prolonged time of siege?
(3) What was the fate of King Zedekiah and his sons? (vv. 5-7)
(4) As his eyes were gouged, do you think King Zedekiah was filled with regrets? Why or why not? (v. 7)
(5) The fate of Jerusalem and its people were described in vv. 8-10. Read it carefully and reflect on the following:
a. What was it once, especially in the time of David?
b. How delighted was the Lord, especially in the time of the dedication of the temple? (2 Chr. 7:1-3)
c. How did the remnant feel at the news of the fall of Jerusalem? (see Ezek. 33:21ff)
d. How did the Lord feel at the destruction of His Holy City?
39:11-18—The Fate of Jeremiah
(6) How was Jeremiah treated by Nebuchadnezzar? (vv. 11-14)
(7) Why? (see 40:2-4) Would anything below be relevant?
a. The fact that he was a prophet of the Lord and Nebuchadnezzar knew about the prophecies he had been preaching.
b. Perhaps because Daniel had increased in influence in Babylon by then. (see Dan. 2:1ff)
(8) How was Ebed-Melek rewarded for his action in saving Jeremiah’s life? (vv. 15-18)
(9) What was the reason given for his action? (v. 18)
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“‘But I will rescue you on that day', declares the LORD; 'you will not be given into the hands of those you fear. I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me', declares the LORD.” (Jer. 39:17-18)
We have earlier reflected on the pitiful king Zedekiah who knew in his heart not only that Jeremiah was the prophet of the Lord but also that his oracles from the Lord about the coming disaster would certainly come true. Yet he chose not to listen, partly for fear of the nobles of the city who were so enraged with the message of surrender preached by Jeremiah that they sought to put him to death.
It was obvious that there were some officials and people who revered Jeremiah as the prophet of the Lord. As a result, these nobles chose to put Jeremiah in a cistern for him to die of starvation instead of executing him outright (38:6).
King Zedekiah could have stopped these nobles and saved Jeremiah, except that he was afraid of a mutiny and so he said, “The king can do nothing to oppose you” (38:5). As much as there were officials who would support Jeremiah, only one dared to step up to approach the king to save him, and was bold enough to call the deed of the other officials “wicked” and affirmed that Jeremiah was a prophet (38:9).
It is important to note that this official in the royal court was not even a Jew; he was a Cushite, meaning an Ethiopian. The Lord was so pleased with his action that He promised to rescue him from the hands of the Babylonians on the day Jerusalem fell and said, “because you trust in me” (39:18). In other words, Ebed-Melek did not only act out of a sense of justice, but because, unlike most Jews of the time, he trusted in the Lord, and believed in the oracles He gave Jeremiah. His faith in the Lord gave him the courage to risk his own life in order to save the servant of the Lord when no one else dared to.
This incident carries prophetic implications in that at the destruction of Jerusalem which was a result of the sins of God’s people, the only one whose deliverance was promised at this time was a Gentile because of his faith. Indeed, salvation has always been based on faith (Rom. 4:16).
40:1-6—The Freeing of Jeremiah—There was an apparent slipup by the soldiers in that they mistakenly captured Jeremiah in spite of the order given by Nebuchadnezzar. (39:11-14)
(1) What do you think might be the reason for the mix-up or mistake in Jeremiah being bound in chains? (v. 1)
(2) What was reason given by the commander for the freeing of Jeremiah? (vv. 2-4)
(3) Do you think he was sincere with his words? Why or why not?
(4) What options did he give Jeremiah? (v. 4)
(5) What did Jeremiah choose? (vv. 5-6) Why? (see the opening words of this chapter)
40:7-16—Gedaliah as Governor
(6) In order to understand why Gedaliah was chosen as governor, perhaps we need to trace his genealogy (see Note below).
a. What was recorded about his father Ahikam? (40:9; 26:24; also 2 Ki. 22:12-14)
b. What was recorded about Ahikim’s father Shaphan? (2 Ki. 22:3-13)
(7) How does v. 12 speak of the goodness of the Lord to the remnant and the hope He offers after His punishment of the land?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“He (Gedaliah) may have had a good deal of administrative experience in Zedekiah’s cabinet. A seal impression found in Lachish dating to the beginning of the sixth century B.C. bears the name, ‘Belonging to Gedaliah, Over the House.’ The latter expression was used of the chief minister of the king.”
(NICOT, 653)
“The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord… So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land.” (Jer. 40:1, 6)
Many were surprised that this chapter begins with “The word came to Jeremiah form the Lord” and no word of the Lord was recorded. The truth is it was not necessary; the word was given to Jeremiah personally for him to act upon, and he did.
After a long and difficult time of ministry by Jeremiah, all the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in the hands of the Babylonians because of the sins of the people had come to pass. This should mark the end of his ministry.
We know that Jeremiah began his ministry in the 13th year of Josiah (25:3) which would be around 628 B.C. and by the time Jerusalem fell, it was about 586/7 B.C., therefore he had faithfully performed his duty for some 40 years during which he was mocked, beaten and imprisoned. Throughout it all, he persevered and had not “omitted one word” (26:2) that the Lord had told him to preach.
Now, with the unfortunate fulfillment of the prophecies of punishment, should it not be time for him to retire, or join Ezekiel or Daniel to minister to the exile in Babylon? Why would he stay with Gedaliah to minister to the mostly poor remnant that were really very few in number? But he did, because the word of the Lord had come to him and told him to do so (40:1).
This is a mark of a faithful servant of the Lord: To do only what the Lord tells him or her to do. Yes, the most important task appeared to have been finished; the most important group of people have been served, yet without kings or princes, without Jerusalem or the temple of the Lord, God told him to stay with the remnant and continue to minster to them; and he ended up being forced to go with them to Egypt and likely died there. (43:6-7)
41:1-9—The Assassination of Gedaliah
(1) Why didn’t Gedaliah believe the report of Johanan? (40:13-14) What possibly could the reason(s) be?
(2) Who was Ishmael? (v. 1) What might be his motive to assassinate the governor (40:14; he had planned to flee afterwards and not to remain in Mizpah)?
(3) How many men did he bring with him? (v. 1)
(4) He also killed 70 of the 80 men who came from the north (vv. 4-9)
a. Where did these men come from? (v. 5)
b. What kind of offerings did they bring? (v. 5)
c. How did they come and how did it show their purpose for coming? (v. 5)
d. How did Ishmael fool them into trusting him? (v. 6)
e. What does this story about the death of these men tell us about Ishmael?
41:10-18—The Aftermath of the Assassination
(5) What might be the motive of the king of the Ammonites to use Ishmael to kill the governor and Babylonian soldiers and to take captive of the daughters of the king? (v. 10)
(6) Having rescued the captives, why did Johanan and his men decide to flee to Egypt? (v. 18)
(7) With Jeremiah among them, what should he have done?
(8) This presumably was a tragedy of lesser national significance, and yet it was later commemorated by the Jews of the post-exilic period (see Zech. 7:3; 8:19) with a fast “on the third day of the seventh month” (K&D, 340; NICOT, 657). Why was this the case?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“(E)ighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, bringing grain offerings and incense with them to the house of the Lord.” (Jer. 41:5)
The killing of Gedaliah and his men by Ishmael was indeed a very heinous act, but what made it even more heinous was his killing of the men who came to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Perhaps, it was the latter and not so much the former that touched the hearts of the post-exilic Jews to set aside a day of fasting to commemorate the event.
As much as it was a tragedy, it serves to show us God always has reserved for Himself a remnant who would still remain faithful to Him even at the worst of (spiritual) times. This is how J.A. Thompson speaks of the 80 men:
“Pilgrims from old Northern Israel cultic centers, Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, arrived at Mizpah on their way to Jerusalem to engage in worship, as is clear from the cereal offerings (minha) and incense (lebona) they carried. It was the seventh month, which was the time of the great autumn feast and the cultic new year…The fact that these pilgrims came from the north suggests that at least some in Northern Israel accepted and remained faithful to Josiah’s reformation of 622 B.C. Presumably they were following the prescriptions of Deuteronomy which required centralization of worship in the central sanctuary, by that time fixed at Jerusalem (cf. Deut. 12:5-6, etc.; 2 Ki. 23). The custom had been securely established before the fall of Jerusalem. The pilgrims wore the signs of mourning and repentance, shaven beards, torn clothes, and gashed bodies (cf. 16:6; 48:37), no doubt because the temple had been destroyed. Mourning for the temple was an important theme during the whole exilic period (Lamentations; Ps.74, 79; Isa. 63:7–64:12). For some time at least, the cultic worship in some form continued in Jerusalem after 587 B.C.”
(NICOT, 659-660)